Chapter 3
Tort Law
The Nature of Tort Law
Based on the idea that…….
Everyone has certain rights.
Everyone has the duty to respect the rights of others.
Tort law enforces these rights.
What is a Tort
Tort: is a private wrong committed by one person against another.
TortFeasor: is a person who commits a tort.
Interferes with a person’s rights.
Three Elements to a Tort
1. The possession of certain rights by an individual.
2. A violation of those rights by a TortFeasor.
3. A resulting injury that somehow hurts the person whose rights were violated.
Criminal Law vs Tort Law
1. Crime: wrong committed against public good
2. Tort (Civil) Law: wrong committed against a particular person or property.
 An act can be both Criminal and Civil.
3. Penalties (Criminal Law): Purpose is to protect society, fines and imprisonment.
4. Remedies (Civil Law): compensate victim for injuries caused by the TortFeasor.
Damages and Remedies
Damages: Monetary sum paid to the plaintiff for injuries, pain and suffering, etc.
Remedy: A legal means of enforcing a right or correcting a wrong.
Intentional Torts Against Persons
Intentional Torts:
1. Assault and Battery
2. False Imprisonment
3. Defamation
4. Invasion of Privacy
5. Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress
Assault and Battery
Two separate Torts
Assault
Battery
False Imprisonment
People have the right to move around freely.
If someone interferes with this right, they have committed false imprisonment.
Invasion of Privacy
Person’s right to be left alone. Right to be free of unwanted publicity, people must stay put of
your private matters.
People who use confidential records in their jobs (doctors, nurses, lawyers, teachers and
counselors) have to be extremely careful with those records.
Someone cannot use your photograph, likeness or name without your permission for
advertising, publicity or marketing purposes.
Defamation
Occurs when somebody lies about another person in a way that hurts the innocent person’s
reputation.
There are two types:
Libel
Slander
Defamation Continued
Movie Stars, famous athletes, and politicians must prove that lies told about them are told with
actual malice (Supreme Court Ruling). Which means that the person who published the lie knew
it was a lie and published it anyway, or the person who published the lie did not do an adequate
job of checking the facts.
Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress
Someone can cause great emotional or mental distress to another person, even if there is no
intent to cause physical harm
The distress must be caused by extreme and outrageous conduct.
Intentional Torts Against Property
1.
2.
3.
4.
Trespass
Conversion
Nuisance
Disparagement
Trespass
Interfering with somebody’s real property.
Conversion
Interfering with someone’s right to personal property.
Disparagement
Lies about objects. The lies can be about quantity or ownership.
Negligence
Is a tort that results when one person carelessly injures another.
Negligence is being less careful than a reasonable should be in the same situation.
Accidental Tort, most common Tort.
No actual intent by the TortFeasor.
Elements of Negligence
The plaintiff must prove all the following elements:
1. The defendant owed the plaintiff a duty of care.
2. The defendant breached that duty by being careless.
3. The defendant’s carelessness was the proximate cause of harm.
4. The plaintiff was really hurt by the defendants carelessness.
Duty of Care
Is the obligation to use a reasonable standard of care to prevent injuries to others.
Breach of Duty
You breach or break, your duty to another person when you fail to use reasonable care in
dealing with that person.
To determine whether the conduct is negligent, the law has developed a standard called the
reasonable person test.
You have to be as careful as a reasonable person would be, a reasonable person
considers how likely a certain act is to cause harm, how serious the harm would be, and
the burden involved in avoiding the harm.
Proximate Cause
It is not enough to show that the defendants actions were unreasonable, the action or behavior
must also be the proximate cause of the injury.
Proximate Cause: or legal cause, exists when the link between the negligent conduct and the
injury is strong enough to be recognized by the law.
Use the Foreseeability Test
The court asks whether the injury to the victim was foreseeable at the time of the
negligent conduct. If the injury to the victim was foreseeable, then proximate cause
exists, and the defendant is liable for negligence.
Actual Harm – VICTIM MUST HAVE SUFFERED AN INJURY!
Defenses to Negligence
There are four defenses to Negligence
1. Eliminate one of the four elements.
2. Contributory Negligence
3. Comparative Negligence
4. Assumption of Risk
Contributory Negligence
A defense against negligence when the defendant can show the victim did something to cause
his or her own injuries.
If the plaintiff can prove this then the defendant loses.
Originated in Common Law.
Many states no longer use this.
Comparative Negligence
A defense against negligence which is raised when the carelessness of each party is compared to
the carelessness of the other party.
50% Rule (most states use this) the plaintiff is allowed to receive some damages if the
plaintiff’s negligence is less than the defendant’s. If the plaintiff’s negligence is more
than half the plaintiff gets nothing.
Assumption of Risk
A defense against the neg
ligence that is raised when the plaintiff knew of the risk involved and still took the chance of
being injured.
Strict Liability
Is a legal doctrine that says that some activates are so dangerous that liability will always follow
any injury that results from those activates.
Product Liability
When people are injured by defective products, both the manufacturer and the seller of the
product(s) are liable for injuries.
Fault does not matter
Limits to Product Liability
Does not apply if the seller of the defective product does not usually sell such items.
Does not apply if the only damage done by the product is damage to the product itself.
Tort Reform
Survival Statutes: A lawsuit can continue even if both the plaintiff and Defendant are deceased.
Previously under common law, Dead = end to the lawsuit.
Wrongful Death Status: relatives can bring a lawsuit even if the victim has dies.